<html><head></head><body><div><div><div><div><br></div>Ephesians 4;11-13<div><br></div><div><b>11. &nbsp;And his gifts were that some should be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers,</b></div><div><b>12. &nbsp;for the equipment of the saints, for the work of ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ,</b></div><div><b>13. &nbsp;until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;</b></div><div><b><br></b></div><div>Everyday Believers are called to <i>“the work of ministry”. &nbsp;</i>The ministry of every Believer is&nbsp;to make disciples. &nbsp;Parents are to disciple their children, husbands and wives are to disciple each other, our neighbor, our enemies,&nbsp;and especially&nbsp;we are even called to disciple ourselves.</div><div><br></div><div>To be a disciple&nbsp;is to walk with Jesus in the will of the Father. &nbsp;In order to walk with Jesus we need to know the Word and&nbsp;deny ourselves.&nbsp;This means&nbsp;to yield up our right to self-determination, becoming obedient to&nbsp;the LORD God Almighty, even to the point of laying down our lives in love for our God, our neighbor, and even our enemies. &nbsp;That willingness to die is why Jesus exhorts those who seek to be disciples to <i>“take up your cross”.</i></div><div><i><br></i></div><div>To make disciples is to <i>“baptize”</i>,&nbsp;and to <i>“teach to obey everything”</i><span>&nbsp;our Lord Jesus has commanded us. &nbsp;(Matthew 28;18-20)</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>This is not burdensome. &nbsp;Such obedience gives rest to our souls. &nbsp;This ministry rejoices the heart of the new-man. &nbsp;Our Lord’s&nbsp;burden is light and his yoke is easy. &nbsp;Laying down our physical earthly&nbsp;lives is expected&nbsp;for we&nbsp;know we&nbsp;have the true Life which can never be taken from us.</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>In the process of disciplining ourselves and others, we are transformed by the Word and the Spirit. &nbsp;We are conformed to Christ’s image, the very, <i>“measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.”</i></span></div><div><span><i><br></i></span></div><div><span>This is what true humanity is, <i>“mature manhood.”</i>&nbsp; This is what Paul means when he says we are called to manifest to the spiritual powers of darkness, <i>“the manifold wisdom of God.” &nbsp;</i>(Ephesians 3;10)<i></i></span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>The ministers&nbsp;of the Church are to equip the members of the Body of Christ to display the light of&nbsp;glory of God to this world, with lives of sacrificial love inspired by Christ himself indwelling us. &nbsp;We are set free in Christ from the fear of death, to live fearlessly, loving recklessly, giving freely, with the very joy of the Lord. &nbsp;Such living is spiritually reproducing. &nbsp;It wins converts, it catches men with the Gospel of Christ.</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>Prayer: &nbsp;Merciful Father, bless us all&nbsp;to live in&nbsp;Christ, loving recklessly, making disciples, doing the ‘Ministry’ you have given to us all. &nbsp;In Jesus we pray, Amen.</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>Love,</span></div><div><span>Dad/Baba/Eric</span></div><div><span>Grandpa Pickle Pastor</span></div><div><span>“A chapter a day, every day, progressively, be transformed (matured), ‘soak in the living Word. &nbsp;God’s Word is our habitation, and we are His.”</span></div><div><br><br><div><a href="https://mail.onelink.me/107872968?pid=nativeplacement&amp;c=Global_Acquisition_YMktg_315_Internal_EmailSignature&amp;af_sub1=Acquisition&amp;af_sub2=Global_YMktg&amp;af_sub3=&amp;af_sub4=100000604&amp;af_sub5=EmailSignature__Static_" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a><br></div></div></div></div></div></body></html>


Ephesians 4;11-13
11.  And his gifts were that some should be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers,12.  for the equipment of the saints, for the work of ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ,13.  until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;
Everyday Believers are called to “the work of ministry”.  The ministry of every Believer is to make disciples.  Parents are to disciple their children, husbands and wives are to disciple each other, our neighbor, our enemies, and especially we are even called to disciple ourselves.
To be a disciple is to walk with Jesus in the will of the Father.  In order to walk with Jesus we need to know the Word and deny ourselves. This means to yield up our right to self-determination, becoming obedient to the LORD God Almighty, even to the point of laying down our lives in love for our God, our neighbor, and even our enemies.  That willingness to die is why Jesus exhorts those who seek to be disciples to “take up your cross”.
To make disciples is to “baptize”, and to “teach to obey everything” our Lord Jesus has commanded us.  (Matthew 28;18-20)
This is not burdensome.  Such obedience gives rest to our souls.  This ministry rejoices the heart of the new-man.  Our Lord’s burden is light and his yoke is easy.  Laying down our physical earthly lives is expected for we know we have the true Life which can never be taken from us.
In the process of disciplining ourselves and others, we are transformed by the Word and the Spirit.  We are conformed to Christ’s image, the very, “measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.”
This is what true humanity is, “mature manhood.”  This is what Paul means when he says we are called to manifest to the spiritual powers of darkness, “the manifold wisdom of God.”  (Ephesians 3;10)
The ministers of the Church are to equip the members of the Body of Christ to display the light of glory of God to this world, with lives of sacrificial love inspired by Christ himself indwelling us.  We are set free in Christ from the fear of death, to live fearlessly, loving recklessly, giving freely, with the very joy of the Lord.  Such living is spiritually reproducing.  It wins converts, it catches men with the Gospel of Christ.
Prayer:  Merciful Father, bless us all to live in Christ, loving recklessly, making disciples, doing the ‘Ministry’ you have given to us all.  In Jesus we pray, Amen.
Love,Dad/Baba/EricGrandpa Pickle Pastor“A chapter a day, every day, progressively, be transformed (matured), ‘soak in the living Word.  God’s Word is our habitation, and we are His.”

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